On The Craig Fahle Show: Case History … The 19th century suit cited in Detroit bankruptcy case

February 19th, 2014

Attorney Caroline English today, representing Ambac Asssurance Corp., one of Detroit’s bond insurers, cited an 1888 case to bolster her argument that her client — and others — have a claim to funds raised through voter-approved measures.

That’s right, a 126-year-old case.

So during a break in the hearing, Next Chapter Detroit visited the library at the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse and found the case.

Titled “Moses Taggart, Attorney General, v. The City of Detroit,” the case involved ensuring the city used the taxes levied to pay for a public market for that purpose. Kind of like what the bond insurers are arguing: that the city should pay off general obligation bonds with taxes collected for that purpose.